Earlier this week, I had the chance to check out The Carbon Bar to take
part in their lobster burger promotion. This was my first visit to The Carbon Bar, and I was in awe of its space. The look was of a
vintage yet updated rock-and-roll discotheque diner with high ceiling
and an open kitchen. Overall, it was a lively atmosphere with a large
cocktail bar situated in the middle of the dining space.

Currently, The Carbon Bar has an ongoing promotion where you can get a
Nova Scotia Lobster Burger for only $20 with the purchase of an
Alexander Keith's beverage. Hurry in soon, as the promotion is only
available until the end of September. I had the pleasure of trying the
special deal earlier this week, and thoroughly enjoyed devouring the
burger. The Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Burger was a sky-high burger
with pit smoked bacon truffles hollandaise, beef steak tomato, dill
pickle, and Old Bay mayo. The burger itself was quite a mouthful, and
filled with large lobster chunks for the lobster lover. The bacon
truffles hollandaise added a nice balance to the overall flavor, and the
strip of bacon provided a good crunch. Lastly, the burger contained a
surprisingly large amount of meat and coated with a lightly fried patty.

The Carbon Bar has always been on my endless list of restaurants in
Toronto to eat at least once. Since we were there for dinner, we decided
to splurge and got a bunch of other dishes on the menu as well. First
and foremost, we got our meat fix by ordering two portions of the Pit
Master Platter (minimum 2 people) ($30 per person). Note that you need
at least two people to order this platter, and it was more than enough
for the four of us. The Southern-US inspired platter was plentiful with
pork ribs, beef brisket, buttermilk fried chicken, coleslaw, pickles,
fries & chipotle mayo.

Overall, we had a great evening at The Carbon Bar. The food was great, the ambiance
was hip and lively, and the staff members were attentive. They are open Mon-Wed
(4 pm to 10 pm), Thurs (4 pm to 11 pm), Fri (4 pm to late), and Sat (5
pm to late). Come for the BBQ, but don't forget to take advantage of the
Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Burger promotion (only here until the end of September).

Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill is a Mongolian-inspired DIY
stir-fry and Northern Chinese buffet on Don Mills Road in North York,
ON. The restaurant
is separated into two sections - the Mongolian grill and the buffet area that serves Chinese hot foods. It
should be noted that they do not serve Mongolian food here
at Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill. Rather, it's a borrowed concept from
the legend of the great warrior, Genghis Khan, from the 13th century.
Back then, Genghis Khan and his soldiers
would prepare and cook their meals on their upturned shields over a hot
fire, and would use their swords to cook the ingredients. This is
pretty much where the concept originated from, and it
has been popularized throughout the world.

The concept is pretty simple, as diners would choose various
ingredients from the displays to combine together to make their desired
bowls. Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill offers an array of meats,
ingredients, vegetables,
and sauces to mix and match, so there's definitely something for
everyone. First up was the meat station where you have the option to
choose from lamb, pork, chicken, and beef. I recommend taking more than
4-5 slice of meat, as they do shrink in size on the
grill. I was impressed with the variety of
sauces that they offer, as there were plenty of pre-made sauces, and
oils/seasonings (chili oil, sesame oil, fish sauce, cooking wine, etc
...) available. After choosing
your meat, you would then add whatever vegetables, type of noodle, and
sauces you want, and then take it to the grill
to be cooked. The griddle operator/chef would then take
your raw bowl, and cook it on the large, and round iron grill (with the
addition of oil and water). The grill is rather hot, so it cooks quite
fast within 5 minutes time (heats up
to 300 °C).

They had a wide selection of vegetables and noodles options to choose from.

Several sauces are available to customize as you pleases.

I ate two bowls of noodles from the Mongolian Grill. I opted for udon
the first time around, and then switched it up to egg noodles for my
second bowl. I picked the right combination of sauces, and they tasted
great.

To the left of the restaurant was the traditional Chinese buffet offering things such as fried rice, stir-fry vegetables, noodles, ribs, chicken wings, dim sum etc ... The selection wasn't too bad, but was limited compared to other Chinese buffets. However, the Mongolian grill is the main attraction of Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill anyway. Price wise, I would say it's on par with buffets in the area as dinner for an adult is $23.95 (Mon to Thu) and $26.95 (Weekends/Holidays).

The dessert buffet table consisted of a chocolate fountain with fondue, cakes, brownies, cream puffs, and slices of fresh fruits.

Overall, it was a fun yet unique dining experience, and I really enjoyed creating my own noodle bowls. The restaurant was a little far for us (as we drove from downtown), but it's a nice place to have dinner with family or friends.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend an event held at The Big Crow. The dinner event was hosted by DenTek; an America company that develops, and markets oral care products. Although they are based in the United States, all of their products are readily available throughout Canada. DenTek has been in business since 1984, and has continued to be a "worldwide leader in innovative dental care products for people of every age." (source: http://www.dentek.com) Their products range from floss picks, tongue cleaners, dental guards, and more. This event was meant to showcase some of DenTek's main dental products by incorporating food into the mix. The event was appropriately titled "Teeth's Worst Nightmare Dinner", and all of the food available for consumption that night was
basically your teeth's worst nightmare aka it either gives you bad breath or get
stuck to your teeth. At the end of the event, all of us bloggers were gifted with a gift bag containing various dental care goodies to take home.

DenTek's Teeth's Worst Nightmare Dinner was hosted at The Big Crow; an Algonquin inspired backyard BBQ joint. The new restaurant opened in mid-2013, and is brought to you by the folks behind Rose & Sons. The restaurant can be hard to find if you're not familiar with the area, but it's directly behindthe Rose & Sons restaurant on Dupont St. The Big Crow is basically an opened shipping crate with long communal picnic
tables, and an open-kitchen. Due to its communal set-up, many of the dishes are meant to be served family-styled (shareable). The Big Crow offers classic BBQ fares, and some of the dishes that we got to sample are pictured below. The BBQ spread includes Cavity-on-the-Cob, Teeth Ruinin Ribs, Garlic Bread Breath, Tooth Pick'in Pulled Pork, Miami Ribs, BBQ Chicken, and Tooth Fairy Treats.

Two of my favorite items that night were the ribs, and roast garlic bread. The Teeth Ruinin Ribs wasn't fall of the bone tender, but it was well-marinated as it was flavorful. Lastly, the roast garlic bread was delicious, as it had nice crispy edges, and a warm soft center. I normally love ribs, but I found the Miami ribs from The Big Crow to be too salty for my taste. However, the overall meal was rather good, and I'll definitely return to check out the rest of their menu, as I love BBQ.

Disclaimer:The food provided in this post was complimentary courtesy of DenTek, and OverCat PR. Thank you for inviting me to the event. However, all of the opinions expressed in this review are of my own.

Boneyard Grill is a casual BBQ restaurant on Avenue Road; nearby Shoppers Drug Mart and Pusateri's Fine Foods. The new space has less seating than their original location, but the restaurant retains its family style seating. I attended the opening of Boneyard Grill's second location a couple of months ago. They treated a handful of bloggers to a variety of menu items that night.

Boneyard Grill offers the same standard BBQ fare as other similar restaurants serving BBQ and bar food. However, there were two items that stood out to me that I really liked a lot. First off, their coconut shrimp was absolutely delicious. The jumbo sized shrimp was covered in crispy coconut shavings, and served with the tangy and sweet mango and plum dipping sauce. This was probably one of the best coconut shrimps that I have had in a while. Secondly, I really liked the ribs that were available at Boneyard Grill. They were seriously tender, and the meat just fell off the bone. I'd say that judging from the quality and flavor of the ribs; they are worth the re-visit for me. A ½ rack is $18.95 and the full rack is $26.95. All of their ribs and combos are served with coleslaw, and one choice of either fries, signature sauteed vegetables or onion straws.

In addition to ribs, their menu offers a large variety of starters, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and wings. I love chicken wings a lot so I wanted to try the wings. I was not displeased with the flavor of the wings, as I thought that they were decent. However, there was nothing about them that would differentiate them from other establishments offering wings. One of the last items served was the pulled pork sliders, which I tried as well. Since the one on the menu is a full sandwich, I am not too sure of the amount of meat stuffed between the bun. However, there was plenty of pulled pork stuffed into the sliders that were available that night. Overall, this is a good place to check out if you're craving some BBQ.

Classic Burger - We get it! You like the simple things in life! No problem. Our no fuss Classic burger is perfectly simple and serviced with lettuce, tomato, pickles and red onion ($11.95). This was just a sampler; the burger described on the menu is much larger.

Pulled Pork Sandwich - Open wide! Slow roasted pulled pork tossed in our signature Louisiana style house made BBQ sauce, stacked with our crunchy onion straws ($11.95). This was served as sliders; the sandwich described on the menu is much large in size.

Welcome Video

Search This Blog

Author

Welcome to Foodaholic! A Toronto-based food reviews, travel and lifestyle blog. My name is Sandi, and I am a female living in the city of Toronto (Canada). I am also an entrepreneur working in the field of logistics and e-commerce. When I am not working, I enjoy blogging, traveling, reading, taking photos, and of course eating. I started this blog as I am an avid foodie who also loves to travel, and I wanted an outlet to share my personal experiences.

Contact

If you have any questions, suggestions, media inquires, feedback, etc ... please email me at foodaholic12@gmail.com.

Food Rating System

The rating list is based on the estimated price of a meal for one person (including taxes).

$ = Inexpensive, under $15$$ = Moderately affordable, between $15-$25$$$ = Expensive, between $25-$50$$$$ = Very expensive or fine dining, $50 and up

Disclaimer (Reviews)

This was blog was started for the purpose of sharing my opinions of restaurants that I have dined at (or took out delivery). Some of you may have different taste buds or a completely different dining experience than what I've had, and may disagree with my reviews, which is fine. However, please note that all of the reviews featured on this blog are solely based on my dining experience. Thanks :)